THERE was pandemonium at the Bodija market in Ibadan on Friday as Yoruba and Hausa traders clashed, resulting
in the destruction of goods worth millions of naira.
No one could say categorically what triggered the
clash, except what many of the traders regarded it as
a built-up anger over the downturn in their economy
since the killing of 14 Yoruba traders in Borno State on
May 4 and June 28 this year, where they had gone to
buy beans.........
Since the killing of their colleagues (the second
incident) on June 28, Yoruba traders have stopped
travelling to the north-eastern state, where the specie
of beans (Oloyin) loved by people in the South-West is
usually found at cheaper price.
However, Hausa traders in Bodija market were said to
have been receiving regular supply of the commodity
from their kinsmen and had been selling same at
exorbitant prices to traders willing to buy and re-sell.
This had resulted in a hike in the price of beans, which
has risen to N550 per measure, against N280 for
which it was sold before the Borno killing of the
traders.
Pent up anger, however, boiled over on Friday
afternoon while Muslim faithful were observing Jumaat
in mosques, leading to the disruption of the peace of
the entire market.
Different weapons like sticks, stones and iron rods
were freely used, with the Yoruba traders chanting
that they would no longer keep quiet over the agenda
of the Hausa to take over commerce in the market.
One of the traders, Saidi Baoku, who spoke with
Saturday Tribune, alleged that the Hausa traders in
the market were trying to take food off their tables by
killing their business.
He further insinuated that the killing of the traders in
the market was masterminded by the Hausa traders
to pave way for their control of the market, as the
Yoruba traders would no longer be able to go to the
North to buy foodstuffs.
He said that the over N40 million lost by the slain
traders was not as painful as their lives that were
brutally terminated.
“We have tried to be patient but we have seen that if
we don’t fight for ourselves, these Hausa will continue
to cheat us in our own land.
After all, the driver of the vehicle in which the 10
traders were was not killed. We want everybody and
government to come to our aid and help so that we
don’t die of hunger,” he stated.
Baoku also said that no one could say what triggered
yesterday’s fight but said that the Yoruba traders just
decided to join in the fight because it was for their
cause.
While speaking on the development, the Chairman of
Ibadan North Local Government, Hon. Idris Lapade,
told Saturday Tribune that the market had been shut,
saying that prompt intervention of men and officers of
the Nigeria Police, officials of the Directorate of State
Security and Operation Burst, led by the Area
Commander in charge of Agodi Area Command,
prevented the crisis from escalating beyond
manageable level.
“We are trying to evacuate the Yoruba before asking
the Hausa to leave, because they might be attacked if
they move out at the same time. The market belongs
to the local government; it is not anyone’s property.
All we are trying to ensure is peace,” Lapade said.
He revealed that there was a security meeting two
days before the incident where it was decided that the
two parties should be invited, adding that leaders of
the traders also held a meeting with the
Commissioner of Police a few hours before the crisis,
and were yet to get back to the market when the
mayhem broke out.
He opined that the fight must have resulted from
built-up tension.
The Public Relations Officer of the Bodija arm of the Ibadan Foodstuff Sellers Association, Mr
Hakeem
Emiola, also corroborated the chairman’s statement that no one knew how
the Friday crisis started, saying that it was only God that had been
helping the executive to contain the anger of the traders.
He noted that the anger was based on the fact since
the Yoruba stopped going to the North to buy beans,
the Hausa over there had been sending the foodstuff
to their kinsmen in Bodija market.
He said this was what led to the meeting with the
police commissioner where it was agreed that the
foodstuff coming in should be shared equally between
the two groups – which was readily agreed to by the
Hausa.
Speaking on the disruption of peace at the market, the
Police Public Relations Officer, Olabisi-Okuwobi, said
that the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed
Indabawa, called for a meeting due to an intelligence
report at his disposal that there might likely be crisis
in the market.
“Both parties agreed to toe the path of peace, but it
seems that the youth in the market heard about the
outcome and were not happy with it. They started
destroying beans, pepper and other goods in the
market.
However, the police commissioner quickly drafted
several teams of patrolmen, led by the Area
Commander, ACP Peter Okoh, as well as an Armoured
Personnel Carrier, to quell the protest,” she stated
further.
Commenting on the development and the possibility of
a spillover of such violence to Osogbo, the Osun State
capital, a top security official said “Osun cannot
witness tribal clash or hostility in any form.”
The official, who pleaded anonymity, said
“Northerners in this state have been coexisting
peacefully with their host communities here, and few
days ago, we held a meeting with Hausa and Fulani
traders.”
He stressed that “adequate and effective security
measures have been put in place to sustain the
reigning peace and harmony in all the nooks and
crannies of Osun.”
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